International Students Wooed by Victoria Educators

Royal Roads University is one of six participants in a new initiative to promote Victoria as an education destination.

GREATER VICTORIA - Three post-secondary institutions and three school districts in the greater Victoria region are working together to promote Victoria as an education destination for international students.

Camosun College, Royal Roads University, the University of Victoria, the Greater Victoria School District 61, Sooke School District 62, and Saanich School District 63 are now members of Education Victoria, a joint partnership to promote academic cooperation and student pathways for the benefit of students and the six institutions and school districts.

The five-year agreement involves joint marketing and recruitment activities in target international markets; shared coordination of activities such as agent familiarization visits, recruitment travel, conference presentations, advertising and promotion; and the exchange of data, documentation and research materials.

The Education Victoria partnership dates back to 2013, when Camosun College, Royal Roads University, Greater Victoria School District 61, and the University of Victoria came together to collaborate in recruiting international students to the region.

The education providers understood that by working together, they could overcome the challenges of increased competition in international recruitment, as well as explore new ways of positioning Victoria as an education destination.

To date, Education Victoria has coordinated six visits to Vietnam and two visits to Korea for Victoria Day promotional fairs. The project has also presented at leading international education conferences in 2015 and 2016.

The long-term vision for Education Victoria is to position Victoria and the Vancouver Island region as a centre of excellence in education. The promotion is based on Canada’s and BC’s strong global reputation for high-quality education, and Victoria’s reputation as a safe and welcoming community that offers natural beauty and the mildest weather in Canada.